Medicare plan switching and hospice care among decedents with advanced cancer

About The Study: In this cohort study of Medicare decedents with advanced cancers, continuous Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees were most likely to receive hospice at home, while those who switched from MA to traditional Medicare more frequently received hospice care in nursing homes. Plan switching near the end-of-life (EOL) may reflect access barriers, highlighting the importance of addressing care coordination to improve EOL care.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Xin Hu, PhD, email xin.hu@emory.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.0755)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

#  #  #

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.0755?guestAccessKey=1b34668e-afe8-4888-aa3d-dd05b3b83eff&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=032426

For more information, contact JAMA Network Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5262) or email media relations.

END